Pączki (Polish [ˈpɔnt͡ʂki] ( listen)) are pastries traditional to Polish cuisine (the word pączek is sometimes translated as doughnut). Pączki is the plural form of the Polish word pączek [ˈpɔnt͡ʂɛk], though many English speakers use paczki as singular and paczkis as plural. In English, the common pronunciation /ˈpɔːntʃki/[1] imitates the Polish pronunciation, but some speakers pronounce the word /ˈpʊntʃki/ or /ˈpʌntʃki/. The Polish word "pączek" itself is a diminutive of pąk ("plant bud").[1]
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A pączek is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere and filled with confiture or other sweet filling. Pączki are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing or bits of dried orange zest. A small amount of grain alcohol (traditionally, Spiritus) is added to the dough before cooking; as it evaporates, it prevents the absorption of oil deep into the dough.[2]
Although they look like berliners (German name), bismarcks (south-central Canada/north-central US name), and jelly doughnuts (generic name; sometimes "jam donut"), pączki are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar and sometimes milk. They feature a variety of fruit and creme fillings and can be glazed, or covered with granulated or powdered sugar. Powidła (stewed plum jam) and wild rose hip jam[2][3] are traditional fillings, but many others are used as well, including strawberry, Bavarian cream, blueberry, custard, raspberry and apple.[4]
Pączki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages. Jędrzej Kitowicz has described that during the reign of August III, under the influence of French cooks who came to Poland, pączki dough was improved, so that pączki became lighter, spongier, and more resilient.
In Poland, pączki are eaten especially on Fat Thursday (the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday). Many Polish Americans celebrate Pączki Day on Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday). Traditionally, the reason for making pączki was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, because they were forbidden to be consumed due to Catholic fasting practices during Lent.
In the large Polish community of Chicago, and other large cities across the Midwest, Pączki Day is celebrated annually by immigrants and locals alike. In Buffalo, Toledo, Delta, Ohio, Cleveland, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Milwaukee, South Bend, and Windsor, Pączki Day is more commonly celebrated on Fat Tuesday instead of Fat Thursday. Chicago celebrates the festival on both Fat Thursday and Fat Tuesday, due to its sizable Polish population. Chicagoans also often eat paczki on Casimir Pulaski Day
In Hamtramck, Michigan, an enclave of Detroit, there is an annual Pączki Day (Shrove Tuesday) Parade,[4] which has gained a devoted following. In the Metro Detroit area, it is so widespread throughout the region that many bakeries have line-ups for pączki on Pączki Day. The Pączki Day celebrations in some areas are even larger than many celebrations for St. Patrick's Day. In some areas Pączki Day is celebrated with pączki-eating contests. The eating contest in Evanston, Illinois, started in 2010. Hamtramck's contest started in 2001. Both are held on the weekends closest to Fat Tuesday.
These pastries have become popular in the United States as a result of Polish immigrants and marketing by the bakery industry. They are particularly popular in areas where there is a large concentration of Polish immigrants. In the Boston area, Detroit area, Chicago and Northern Illinois, Northwest Indiana and Southeastern Wisconsin they can regularly be found in supermarkets.
Polish Jews fried pączki (Yiddish: פּאָנטשקעס , pontshkes) in oil, and ate them on Hanukkah, following the tradition of eating food cooked in oil on Hanukkah. The custom of eating fried filled pastries was imported to Israel and spread to other Jews, who know them by their Modern Hebrew name, סופגניות, sufganiyot (singular: סופגניה, sufganiyah).[5]
In other Slavonic countries, a meal synonymous with pączki appears in the local cuisines whose name is derived from the same etymology as pączki:
In neighboring countries to Poland there are also: